Posted on 05/14/2002 7:37:43 PM PDT by kattracks
After insisting for months that he would not raise taxes, California Gov. Gray Davis proved himself a liar today by unveiling a plan to close his $23.6 billion budget deficit with tax increases and spending cuts.
The shortfall, almost double that predicted in January, amounts to one-third of the state's general fund, the Associated Press reported.
Davis, a Democrat fighting for a second term, blamed not his years of massive overspending but the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and economic slump.
"This budget reflects my view, and the views of most economists, that some time in the next 12 months, California will experience a recovery," he said.
Davis proposes:
- A supposedly "temporary" increase to vehicle license fees.
- A boost in the cigarette tax, a favorite tactic of overspending states across the country.
- Borrowing $4.5 billion using as collateral money the state expects to collect from a 1998 extortion scheme against - oops, legal settlement with - tobacco companies.
- $7.6 billion in spending cuts that would especially affect health programs and aid to local governments.
Davis' latest embarrassment, along with his Oracle scandal, will add fuel to the gubernatorial campaign of Bill Simon.
"The plan likely sets the stage for an intense election-year fight. Republican lawmakers have said they will not supply their votes - which are needed for the required two-thirds passage of the budget - for a budget with a tax increase," the Associated Press said.
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
The radio news in LA has the license fee increase at 300% per vehicle.
California vehicle license fees are set based on the vehicle's value -- and it isn't cheap now.
Davis, in tripling the vehicle license tax, should be soundly defeated in the November elections.
yesmoke.com, international supplier of cigarettes.
$11.95 to $14.95 per carton, including shipping!
They send each carton individually, so that each package is below the minimum declarable value at the custom's office.
Not available in Switzerland.
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